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We now have 777 teams & 153,687 games on AHSFHS.org.

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AHSFHS Article Series

The best of the best in Alabama High
School Football over the past 100 seasons.

2012

Five Years at AHSFHS.org

Five years ago the
Alabama High School Football Historical Society became a reality on the
internet with the website AHSFHS.org. The beginning was not an epic event by
any means with only a few visitors the first season. The task of researching
every high school football team seemed to be an impossibility at that time
and I knew it would not be possible without the assistance of others across
the state. The amount of support has been great with countless interested
people pitching in to assist us in completing teams.

The list of individuals that have lending their support of our efforts is
long to say the least. In the beginning people like Lee, Mike, Bobby, Andy,
Daryl
and Shane were there to research teams in their areas that made my task much
easier. Over the years we have tried to bring you everything we could find
about the history of high school football in Alabama and will continue to
add games, players, coaches and stories as they are researched.

I am always
appreciative of the people that offer their time to do research and wish to
thank each and every person that has given of their time and efforts over
the past five years to make this a reality. I get emails every day from
coaches, former players and fans that help us to correct mistakes, find
missing items and fill in blanks. Without this support we would not be able
to continuously complete teams and find the things we are missing.

I believe
I have visited every library south of Montgomery and several in the north
half of the state. I don't think there is a small town in the south half of
the state that I have excluded from my travels over the past few years.
Actually it was exciting to see all the towns and in most cases I tried to
go by the school and view the facilities. I remember a few instances that I
found schools that had closed over the years but were still standing.

A few places stand
out such as the library in Abbeville. They have most of the yearbooks and
the newspaper researching is easy. Others places with a lot of research
material are the libraries at Andalusia, Citronelle, Florala, Geneva, Eufaula,
Valley, Tuskegee, Samson, Grove
Hill and Wetumpka. Newspapers also proved to be a valuable research source
but often are very time consuming. Several visits in search of hard-bound copies of old
newspapers were made to courthouses in Chatom and Greenville. Visiting an
actual newspaper in search of past editions was fruitful in Atmore,
Flomaton, Tallassee, Brewton, Thomasville and Foley.

Many days were
spent at the library in Dothan to say the least. The last few places were
the best and they include; the archives in Mobile where they all know me
very well after a few hundred visits, the library at Auburn University where
the available research material is endless and could go on for years, the
Archives in Montgomery where anyone could spend a hundred days and still be
in search of missing information, and lastly the University of South
Alabama. My favorite research facility is by far the library at Auburn. The
material is readily available and easily accessed and saved to a flash
drive. The worst is the library in Birmingham where you must submit a form
to view anything and wait until someone finds the time to retrieve it.
If you know me you know I have no patience when it comes to research. There
is so much to do and so little time to get it done.

So as we look to the future I would like to extend a special thank
you to all those involved over the past five years. You make this possible.
I look forward to the future and the new fans of Friday night football that
will be encountered over the coming years. If you are new to our project
feel free to join us in our efforts. If you find a mistake or wish to
contribute in any way do not hesitate to do so. You may email me at
dparker@ahsfhs.org with corrections,
comments and additions.

David Parker
AHSFHS.org

Great Moments in Alabama High School Football History

Luverne 'Toad' Wise was the first female football player in Alabama and may have been the first in the country. She was a kicker for the Escambia County Blue Devils in 1939-40.